Paramus School Budget Means $79 Increase for Average Homeowner

Paramus school board approved an $83 million budget Thursday night for next year that will raise the school portion of taxes by roughly $79 for the average homeowner.

The budget maintains and enhances all existing programs and provides additional enhancements which includes needed infrastructe improvements, explained Kenneth Rota, superintendent of schools.

Steven Cea, business adminstrator, gave a detailed rundown of all the numbers explaining all factors involved in maintaining a tax levy that is under the 2 percent mandated cap. The $71 million tax levy amounts to a roughly 1.6 percent increase over last year, said Cea.

Cea highlighted some of the cost savings measures that were taken. New interest bearing accounts now bring in about $30,000 to $40,000 where previous accounts yielded little or not interest.

The district anticipates additional tuition to come in from outside districts looking to place their students in the Paramus special education program which is highly sought out

The district anticipates additional special education tuition to come in as many requests from outside districts looking to place their students in the Paramus program have come in, according to Rota.

Also the district has received its final grant from the state for previous projects which eliminates the district from having to pay interest payments on notes while waiting for the grants to come in, Cea said.

Among the curriculum improvements planned for next year include enhancing the libraries at the elementary schools working in more non-fiction titles which goes along with the new common core standards, said Rota.

Older computer equipment such as laptops and tablets for staff will be replaced but those items will repurposed and reintroduced into the district perhaps for student use, said the superintendent.

The budget also supports the new staff evaluation program which is now mandated by the state. Rota said the district is using a strong evaluation model and is already one year ahead of schedule in implementing the program.

The district also managed to save costs by using an online video component for staff training in such topics  as bullying, harrassment, and other required areas that can be done on their own time and won't cut into professional development time, or time in the school building that could be used towards instruction, said Rota.

Infrastructure improvements include new roofs for the high school and West Brook Middle School buildings. Cea said the Board is using funds from its capital reserve towards these improvements.

A window replacement project will also begin at the high school this year, starting with the replacement of the oldest windows. The new windows will be energy efficient, as Cea explained the goal is to put in improvements that will save costs down the line.

Bathroom replacements are also planned starting with Memorial School, said Cea.

Planning ahead for future emergencies that could be caused by weather events such as Superstorm Sandy last fall, the district is exploring the purchase of portable generators that would be intended for the high school and the middle schools, which are the three largest buildings in the district, Cea explained.

The district did not get any additional help from the state this year as funding remained flat at rougly $1.9 million. Cea said originally there had been some anticipation that there could have been no aid received this year but were pleased that this was not the case.

He pointed to a chart which showed state aid at its highest of roughly $3.7 million in 2009 which has been cut substantially since then. Although Cea says its anticipated the state intends to restore the aid amounts which were cut over the next few years.

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